BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT

Rev 7,2-4.9-14; Ps 23; 1 Jn 3,1-3; Mt 5,1-12a
1 NOVEMBER

Jesus did not come to give a new law to an old man with a heart of stone. The heart of stone has not observed the old Law, it might never observe the New. He has come to stipulate the new covenant which has as its essence the change of the heart of man. Jesus in the Holy Spirit makes the new man. The new man in the Holy Spirit lives the new law. This is the great ministry of the Church: making the new man in the Holy Spirit so that he may live according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. Fulfilling the prophecies of God today belongs to the Church.

The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the Lord. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more (Jer 31.31-34).

I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the stony heart from their bodies, and replace it with a natural heart (Ez 11, 19). Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? (Ez 18, 31). I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts (Ez 36, 26).

Jesus reveals this truth to Nicodemus. He came to pour into the hearts the Spirit without measure. The old man is immersed in the Spirit poured by Him and the new man is born. The new man will always live moved by the Spirit, on condition that he always lets himself be nourished by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is the nourishment of the new man.

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot re-enter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn 3,1-8).

Today it is happening that the Christian, having become detached from the Holy Spirit and thinking according to the flesh and no longer according to the Spirit, declares the new Law impossible to be lived. It cannot be but this way. The Law is lived in the Holy Spirit.

When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.

A new man, with the heart of flesh, the Holy Spirit and the New Law, must always be one. If one separates from the Spirit, he returns to the flesh and lives from the flesh.

Virgin Mother, Angels and Saints, immerse us in the Spirit to live according to the Spirit.